The Blake Adventures: Rescue Me
by AndAllThatMishigas
Summary: Dr. and Mrs. Blake are eagerly planning for the arrival of their new child, but end up having to rescue more children than they bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

**The Blake Adventures: Rescue Me**

 _April 1961_

"If it's a boy, he should be Thomas, after your father."

Lucien frowned. "Really?"

"Of course!" Jean replied. "Your father is the reason we ever met, albeit under unfortunate circumstances. And I loved Dr. Blake very much. I think it's only right we honor him. Especially since you won't let us name the baby after you," she pointed out.

He sighed. "I've never had a particularly easy time with my French name, and I won't put that same burden on my son. Lucien works just fine for me, but it needn't become a tradition."

"Very well. Thomas it is." Jean smiled and rubbed her hands along her barely showing stomach.

"Hang on, I didn't agree to that! Don't you think it would be strange to have another Thomas Blake running around? No, let's just use Thomas for a middle name. What about your father? Don't you want to name our son for your father?"

Jean shrugged. "I don't know. My father was a fine man, but he really wasn't anything special. We were never particularly close. He was a stoic man. Took us to church every Sunday and worked hard on a farm all his life. There wasn't much more to him than that."

"But he was a good man? Provided for his family and was respected in the community?"

"Yes, of course."

"Well, there you have it. Those are traits I'd like our son to emulate. Between that and my father's traits and whatever bad habits he picks up from me should be just perfect. Thank god he'll be your son, Jean, or we'd all be doomed," Lucien teased.

She laughed. "Yes, I suppose so. You like Jonathan, then?"

"Was that your father's name?"

"Yes, of course. You're the one who suggested it!"

"I actually had no idea what your father's name was. I just thought that we should honor both our fathers in a name. Jonathan Thomas Blake. I quite like that, actually. Jonathan Blake. Yes, that works quite well," he said with satisfaction.

Jean nodded. She was nearly six months along and this was the first serious conversation they'd had about a name for the baby. Now if only she could get Lucien to stop dragging his feet on the nursery…

"Now then, we have a boy's name. What about for a girl?"

When she returned her attention to her husband, she noticed that he seemed to have a very different expression regarding this topic. She couldn't quite place it though. "Lucien, are you hoping for a boy or a girl?" she asked cautiously.

His happy expression faltered. "Well…" Lucien didn't quite know how to respond.

"Are you worried that another daughter will feel like a replacement of Li?"

"Are you worried that another son will feel like a replacement of Jack or Christopher?" he countered.

"Of course not, they're grown. Christopher has a child of his own!"

"And so does Li," Lucien replied. He took Jean's hand and faced her very seriously. "Jean, our child is going to be our very own. And the experience we'll have as parents will be nothing like what I had with Mei Lin and Li. That, I can assure you. And, that being said, while I am over the moon with excitement for our child, boy or girl, I will admit that I am hoping for a girl."

"Really? I was hoping to give you a son," she admitted quietly.

He chuckled. "And I'm hoping to give you a daughter. You've had boys. And with your cooking and sewing and gardening skills, and the fact that you're the most brilliant woman to ever walk the earth, I hope you can pass all that on to a little girl."

"But don't you want a boy to carry on the family name?"

"Oh, you know I've never cared about any of that," he dismissed. "No, honestly, I'm a little frightened of a son. I mean, my god, look at the difference between my father and me. Can you imagine what another generation of that would be like? Even with your influence, I don't think Ballarat could handle it."

Jean gave a half-smile. He did have a point. A girl might be for the best. "Well, I don't think we've got much choice in what we end up with."

"No, not at all," he laughed. "It would be nice to have another man around the house. But I must say, I've always preferred to be surrounded by women."

She sighed at him in feigned exasperation. "Right, well, since you are hoping for a girl, do you have any names in mind?"

"Perhaps. I'm more interested in what you have in mind. You've given all this much more thought than I have."

"I think Genevieve. I know I never met your mother, but everything I know about her makes it very clear that you take after her, and that in itself deserves to be honored."

Lucien leaned in and kissed her temple. "What a lovely thing to say."

"Though since you made such a fuss over Thomas, I suppose you'd prefer to use Genevieve as a middle name?" she asked resignedly.

"Oh yes. Just hearing 'Genevieve Blake' only makes me think of the gravestone or that old hospital record of hers."

Jean agreed, "That's fine. And before you ask, I will not name our daughter after my mother. Gertrude is a terrible name."

"Good lord, yes, you're right. Well, I don't have anything in mind just yet, but I will think about it. Unless you have a name in mind?" he asked hopefully.

"No, I'd just been thinking of Genevieve. The first name is up to you, I think."

Lucien put his hand on his wife's belly. "We'll think of something. You won't be nameless for long," he said to the baby growing inside.

Jean placed her hand on top of his and smiled. She'd known for a while that Lucien was going to be a wonderful father. And as much as she tried not to compare them, she knew Lucien would be a much better father than Christopher had been. Not that Christopher was ever a bad father. But he left most things about the children to Jean. He was never too strict with the boys, nor was he ever overly friendly or affectionate. He'd been like Jean's own father in that way. Most men were like that with their children, she'd assumed. Not her Lucien Blake, though. No, aside from being her doctor during her pregnancy, he was acutely attuned to anything she might need and always very excited about the prospect of their baby. Even at their age, they still acted like newlyweds, just about to start their family.

As was so often the case, the ringing telephone interrupted their happy moment. "I'll get it," Lucien insisted. "It's probably a police matter at this hour." He got up, giving his wife a small peck on the cheek before going to answer the phone. "Hello, Dr. Blake's surgery," he said into the receiver.

"Oh thank god you're home," a desperate voice said with relief.

Lucien's brow furrowed. He knew that voice. "Christopher?"

"Yes, sorry. It's Christopher. I just got the strangest phone call from Jack. And I told him to get in touch with you but he said he only had one phone call and didn't know your phone number. And that he didn't want to use the operator," Christopher babbled.

"Hang on, slow down, what's going on with Jack?" Lucien asked, trying to get Christopher to calm down. He'd never heard the army lieutenant sound so worked up like this.

On the line, Christopher took a deep breath. "Sorry, Doc. He's my kid brother, and since he won't let Mum help him, I feel responsible for him sometimes. Most times. And right now, I don't know what he's gotten himself into, but I think he's at Ballarat Hospital."

"He's what!?"

"I think that's what he said! His voice was all faint. Like he was going in and out. But I definitely heard him say hospital and Ballarat. I'd go check on him myself, but since you're there…"

"Of course! Jean and I will go right now. And we'll let you know as soon as we know what's going on."

"Wait, do you think it's a good idea to tell her? I mean, in her condition, wouldn't she get upset?"

Lucien rolled his eyes, glad that Christopher couldn't see him. "No, I think she'll be fine. And her 'condition' has nothing to do with that. She's pregnant, not incapacitated."

"I just want to make sure she's being well cared for."

And now Lucien was starting to get angry. "Christopher, I am her husband and her doctor. And if you think that I'd ever let anything happen to her…"

"Alright, I believe you! Sorry! But I do know how she gets with Jack, so please keep an eye on her."

"Yes, I'll keep an eye on her," Lucien promised. "I'll call you later with news."

With that they hung up. Lucien felt like pounding his head against the wall. Nothing with Jean's sons was every very easy.

"Was Christopher giving you a hard time again?"

He turned to see Jean standing in the hallway, her arms crossed in front of her. She had a strange look on her face, a mix of bemusement and annoyance.

Lucien gave a small smile of reassurance. "Yes, that was Christopher. Wants me to keep an eye on you in your condition."

She scoffed, "Just because Ruby had a terrible time with pregnancy doesn't mean that every woman turns to a delicate flower when she's with child! When I was pregnant with Christopher and Jack, I was working the farm until nearly the day they were born!"

"Yes, dear, I know. Though I think Christopher may have had a point this time."

"Oh?"

"Well, speaking of Jack, Christopher was calling to ask if we'd—well, if I'd—check in on him. It seems that your Jack may be at Ballarat Hospital."

Jean's eyes went wide and her face went a shade paler. She swallowed hard and walked right past her husband. "Get the car keys," she told him sternly, grabbing his jacket and hat to put on him as they hurried out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Upon arriving at the hospital, Jean hurried Lucien along, nudging him to get information about Jack. And it ended up coming from an unexpected source.

"Doc! Mrs. Blake!"

They turned to see Charlie waving them over from the doorway to a hospital room. Jean immediately felt her anxiety level double. "Oh no, not again," she murmured in disappointment.

Lucien couldn't help being unsurprised by police involvement in Jack's appearance in Ballarat. It seemed to be what happened whenever he came to town. Lucien tried to hope for the best, however, for Jean's sake. He gave her arm a comforting squeeze as they went to speak to Charlie. "Is Jack here?" he asked, hoping Charlie could give them some good news.

"Yeah, he's in here. Unconscious right now. But the doctors have told me he'll be fine. I must have just missed you. I tried to call the house but you weren't there," Charlie explained.

"Charlie, what's happened to him?" Jean asked, terrified as to what the answer might be.

"He was dumped on the edge of town out of the back of a truck. We had a witness call the ambo for him when she noticed the bleeding. She's at the station with the boss. Obviously he's the victim of a crime, so I'm here to wait for him to wake up. How did you know he was here?"

Lucien explained, "Apparently he was able to make a phone call and he phoned Christopher, who called the house and asked us to see to him. I don't think Jack knows our number offhand."

"He doesn't want me here," Jean translated bitterly.

"I can't imagine how anyone wouldn't want you around for any reason," Charlie told her quite sincerely. "But since you are here, you may as well go in and see him. I'll wait out here."

Jean squared her shoulders with determination before going inside. Lucien was going to let her go in alone, but she held onto his hand and took him in with her. They went into the room to find Jack Beazley lying in bed, badly beaten. Jean gasped at the sight of his bruised and swollen face. His arm was in a sling and his shoulder was heavily bandaged.

Lucien put a comforting arm around his wife. She was standing so rigidly. Her lips were pressed together in an attempt to keep the tears in her eyes from falling.

They stood that way, unmoving, for several minutes. Lucien waited to follow Jean's lead, and she couldn't seem to get herself to do much of anything. Finally, Jack began to stir. Jean's maternal instinct took over and she rushed to his side.

"Jack?" Her voice was kind and quiet, but it cracked with emotion.

His eyes blinked open, as much as they could with the swelling. "Mum? Mum, what are you doing here? Where am I?" he asked, his voice hoarse and frightened.

"You're in Ballarat Hospital. You were shot and found on the edge of town. The ambulance brought you in. You called Christopher, you remember? He told us you were here."

Jack's mind started to piece things together. He remembered talking to Christopher…vaguely. Like it was something from a dream. And he'd told…us? "Us, who?"

Lucien stepped forward. "Christopher called me, Jack. He didn't want your mother to worry. But I think we both know she'd want to be here."

A strange smile took hold of Jack's face. A combination of satisfaction and sarcasm. "Ah, yes, the good doctor. I should have known."

Jean didn't like that tone from him at all. "Jack…" she warned.

"I didn't get a wedding invitation," he complained accusingly.

"I haven't heard from you in almost two years! I wouldn't know anything if Christopher didn't tell me," she fired back.

Lucien could see this was going in a poor direction. "Look, why don't we fight about this later, hmm? Jack, as soon as the hospital releases you, you'll come stay with us while you recover. As you've cleverly pointed out, I am a doctor. Between us, your mother and I can take fine care of you until you're ready to leave and never be heard from again, alright?"

Jack knew it was no use to protest at this juncture. He just nodded weakly.

"Right. I'm going to bring Sergeant Davis in. He's got some questions about what happened to you. And I think for your medical wellbeing, we should all hear the answers." With that, Lucien went to fetch Charlie.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Beazley," Charlie greeted.

"Here to arrest me again, are you?"

Charlie smirked. "Not yet. Maybe you'd like to tell us how you got shot?"

"I was shot. Isn't that enough?" Jack replied defiantly.

"Do you know who shot you?" Charlie asked, ignoring Jack's attitude.

"Yes."

"Who shot you?" Jean asked, interjecting through his sass.

Jack shut his mouth and suddenly became very interested in starting at the curtains on the window on the far side of his room. They all watched him, waiting for an answer that never came.

Lucien regarded the young man very carefully. He was being obstinate, yes, but that roughness was masking a deep fear lurking just below the surface. And even though Lucien knew he could get in a lot of trouble for it, he followed his instinct and asked, "Charlie, could you take Jean home, please?"

True to form, Mrs. Blake protested, "What!? That's my son lying there, you can't make me leave!"

Charlie, too, didn't like this idea. "Doc, I'm here under orders. I can't just leave."

But Lucien put his foot down, speaking in a tone far more commanding than he ever felt. "Jean, we wanted to check on Jack, and here he is and he's going to be fine. There's nothing more you can do for him right now. And Charlie, I know your shift is up soon, and I'd bet that Chief Superintendent Carlyle won't object to me, the police surgeon, having a look at the victim here. And then, after that, we'll have a little chat, eh?" That last remark was directed to Jack.

Seeing that this may be the best course of action, Charlie and Jean both left, leaving Lucien and Jack alone.

"Now then, are you going to tell me what happened, or are you going to make me figure it out for myself?" Lucien asked, adopting a much more pleasant demeanor.

"You're so clever, let's see it," Jack challenged.

The doctor's eyes scrutinized every part of the young man. "You weren't in a fight. You were tied up and beaten. You've got rope burns on your wrists and no defensive wounds on your hands. And sometime after, you were shot. Either you got caught by someone who wasn't supposed to get you, or you did something to get yourself punished. Either way, you've been involved in something on the far side of legality, and now that you've been abandoned by whoever had that control over you and are now essentially in police custody, you're terrified at the prospect of retribution. Now, I'm hoping you can supply the details, but am I right on the big picture?"

"Doc, you can't tell the police. And you can't tell my mother," Jack begged.

"I'm afraid I can't promise either of those things. But if you let me help you, Jack, I swear we can make it alright. Will you please tell me what you've been up to?"

Jack paused for a beat, trying to find an alternative avenue. He found none. "I don't know how much Christopher knows or how much he's told you, but I've barely been able to hold down a job since I left here. I've got the criminal record, of course, but then I had a baby on the way and then no baby on the way. Nothing seemed to matter. I worked in shops that would hire me, or in the fields during planting and harvesting season. But then I found something that seemed like a good fit for me."

"And what was that?" Lucien asked dubiously.

He hesitated, but knew it was useless to falter. "There's a brothel in Beaufort, outside of Ballarat jurisdiction. Anyway, there's this woman, Kath, who runs the place. She hired me to be a sort of gatekeeper at night, making sure that the customers don't rough up the girls or each other. And in between, I look after her children. She's got five. Dennis, Peter, Vickie, Victor, and baby Lex. They all welcomed me into the family, in their way. And for about six months, it's been really good."

"So what brought you here?"

Jack scowled. "Kath's got this bloke around. I think he's Lex's father, but there's no way to know. Norm's his name. I dunno his last name. I don't really know any of their last names. And I don't think they know mine. Don't ask a lot of questions, see. But anyway, I was sitting with baby Lex and little Vickie, she's five. The other boys were playing outside." Jack closed his eyes trying to remember it clearly. "Vickie and Lex were both napping and I was reading a book. And there was a commotion outside the door. I saw Norm drag a man down the hall. I heard Kath's voice yelling. I wasn't going to do anything but then Vickie woke up and ran down toward everything so I went after her. And I grabbed her just as she opened the door to see Kath shoot the man in the head. The baby started to cry in the other room from the noise and I was going to go see to him. But Kath told Norm to get me and leave the baby to cry, and she yelled at Vickie to go to her brothers. Kath kicked the dead man out of the chair onto the floor and Norm tied me up and knocked me senseless. I woke up in the back of a truck. He stopped it, untied me, pushed me out, and then shot me before driving away. And I don't really remember anything after that until Mum came in."

Lucien's mind was spinning with all the information Jack had just told him. He was right to not talk to the police. Not yet, at least. After all, Ballarat police didn't have jurisdiction there. "Jack, you've done nothing wrong."

"I know I haven't. But I still got shot." His eyes went wide all of a sudden at the realization. "And they've got my things. All of them. Every penny to my name, all my books and things."

"Don't worry about that, Jack. All of that can be replaced."

"No, Doc, if they have my things, and they find out I'm still alive, they'll come after me and they'll come after you and Mum. In the book I was reading, I have a picture from your wedding that Christopher sent me. I've been using it as a bookmark. They'll know and they'll come after us."

A cold grip of fear took hold of Lucien's heart. "Right. I'm going to make sure you have police protection here. I'll have to explain some of this, but just enough to keep you safe. And don't worry about your mother and me. I'll die before anything happens to them, Jack, I swear it."

"Them?"

Lucien cursed the slip of his tongue. He explained awkwardly, "Yes, didn't you notice? She's pregnant. We're going to have a baby."

Jack's entire countenance went gravely serious. "Doc, you go to her right now. And take care of her and yourself. Don't you dare give her another dead husband and another child to raise alone."


	3. Chapter 3

Lucien returned home to find Jean waiting anxiously for him. "Did he tell you what happened?" she asked, rushing at him as soon as he opened the door.

He put his hands on her shoulders to keep her calm. "Yes, he did. And we may have some complications. Let's sit down and have some tea and we can work it all out."

Jean regarded him suspiciously, but didn't say anything as she went into the kitchen to make a pot of tea. Lucien went into the parlor, where Charlie was sitting, having changed out of his uniform.

"Is Jack Beazley going to answer my questions when I go back tomorrow?" Charlie asked.

"Probably not. But I will tell you what you need to know. I'll have to call Frank, actually. Jack's going to need police protection for a little while. As far as he knows, he isn't supposed to be alive. And if anyone finds out that he is, it could mean trouble for us all," Lucien said cryptically.

"What's this now?" Jean asked, coming in with the tray, her eyes wide with concern.

Charlie jumped up. "Mrs. Blake, you shouldn't be carrying that heavy tray! Here, let me have that. You sit down," he insisted.

Jean sat down, visibly annoyed.

Lucien suppressed a chuckle. "Charlie, you needn't treat Jean like she's going to break. She's pregnant, she hasn't turned into a porcelain doll!"

Charlie looked as though that statement didn't compute in his mind.

"Never mind that," Jean interrupted. "What's happened with Jack?"

Lucien relayed what Jack had told him, trying to be as delicate with the details as possible. Just as Jack had done, Lucien left the most concerning detail for last. "All of Jack's things, including his money and his books, are back at that place. And apparently, in a book he was reading, he used a photograph of you and I as a bookmark. Jack's concerned that if these people ever come looking for him, they'll come after us as well."

Charlie was the first to react. "What are you waiting for? Call the boss and let's get out there now and arrest them all!"

"You can't do that, Charlie. Beaufort is outside of Ballarat's jurisdiction. And I doubt Melbourne will get the army out there any time soon. This isn't a priority for anyone but us," Lucien explained.

Everyone was quiet for a moment. The gravity of the situation was starting to set in.

"We'll have to go ourselves," Jean said quietly.

Lucien nodded. He'd realized the same thing, but was hoping there could be another way. "I can go, posing as a…customer. I'll speak to Jack again so I'll know where to look for his things. Hopefully, I can be in and out without much fuss and be on my way."

"Lucien Blake, you will do no such thing! In case you've forgotten, you're a married man!" Jean scolded.

"I'd wager that most of the men who go there are similarly situated. But I won't actually do anything, Jean, it'll just be my usual level of investigation." He started to laugh. "You can't really believe I'd actually go to a brothel!"

Her cheeks went a little pink. "I don't know what you did before you returned to Ballarat," she snipped. "Regardless, if you go there and don't…do anything, you'll raise suspicion. No. I'll go. I can pose as a woman looking for…work. That way I can wander around and look for Jack's things without being out of place. And as soon as I get what we need, I'll be gone without a trace."

"Mrs. Blake!" Charlie was thoroughly scandalized.

Lucien couldn't help but laugh in earnest now.

The front door opened, signally that Mattie was home from work. "What's going on here?" she asked, finding everyone in the parlor. Lucien was laughing, Jean looked cross, and Charlie looked very upset.

Charlie answered her, "There's a brothel outside Ballarat run by some very nasty characters who have Jack's things that need to be retrieved, and the Doc wants to pose as a customer to investigate, while Mrs. Blake wants to pose as a potential worker!"

Mattie's eyes went wide. "Jean! You're pregnant!"

"Oh, Mattie, I wouldn't actually do anything! And besides, you're a nurse! You should know that being pregnant isn't…" Jean trailed off turning bright red. She stood up. "Right. I'll go start dinner." With that, she hurried out of the room.

Lucien was still completely amused by the whole thing. But he caught his breath from laughing and stood to follow his wife. "Charlie, you explain everything to Mattie, please."

Jean was aggressively cutting the chicken when her husband came into the kitchen to join him. "I don't need you laughing at me anymore, thank you very much," she announced snidely, not bothering to look up at him.

"I wasn't laughing at you. If anything, I was laughing at Charlie. Now, if you'll put that knife down, I'd like to talk to you."

She stopped hacking away at the meat and rested the knife tip on the cutting board, balancing the handle on her palm.

"All the way down, if you would."

Jean rolled her eyes. "Lucien, I'm not going to stab you."

"At this point, I can't be too careful," he teased. He held out his arms to her. "Will you come here now?"

She put the knife all the way down and wiped her hands on her apron before settling into his embrace. "I did want to stay mad at you." She pressed her face into his chest and let out a muffled sigh. "This has been the strangest day."

"I know," he replied understandingly, nuzzling her hair. "But just like you've done his whole life, you're going to rescue Jack from his own folly. And I'll be right there with you. Because we may be getting a child of our very own, but I married you knowing that I was taking on responsibility for your sons. As much as you want me to. Jack's your boy, and we're going to make everything alright." Lucien didn't tell Jean what Jack had warned him of, about leaving Jean alone with another dead husband and another child to raise all on her own. He wouldn't let that happen. He would never leave his family. Not again. And especially not now that he'd had to fight so hard for Jean's love.

Jean let the warmth of his words fill her up, washing away all the doubts and worries. She lifted her head to smile at him. "I still won't let you solicit a brothel."

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I think I have a compromise. I do like your idea of you going in on the inside, so to speak, so perhaps you can offer to work and I can go in and request you for myself. And it won't be much of a ruse, because given the choice, I'd pick you every time."

"That's a very sweet thing to say, but I'd prefer you didn't talk about me in relation to prostitution anymore."

"Yes, I don't quite like it either," he agreed. "But nevertheless, that way we can keep an eye on each other, eh?"

Jean sighed, "You know, I don't like anything about this. How could Jack be so stupid! Still! After all the trouble he's gotten himself into his whole life, he still can't seem to make anything of himself. He's such a smart boy, so good looking and so clever. Why he can't put any of that to good use, I'll never know."

"I can't speak to everything, obviously, but from my conversation with him earlier today, I can tell you that he is trying. He may have been working for a brothel, but he was taking care of children and keeping those women safe."

"Yes, Jack always has the best intentions. He never tries to do the wrong thing. It just always seems to happen," she lamented.

Lucien didn't know what else he could say to make Jean feel better. It was so hard to watch her love and care for her son, yet be forced to watch him make so many mistakes, unable to steer him on the right track. Jean had no illusions about either of her sons; neither Jack nor Christopher was perfect and she didn't pretend they were. But she loved them so much. And all they did was break her heart. "Would you like to come with me tomorrow when I get the details from Jack?"

"No, I don't think he'll talk as much if I'm there. You go alone. But I'll pack some sandwiches for you to give him. At the very least, he should eat something to get his strength up. I've no idea what Ballarat Hospital will be feeding him."

Taking her hand and giving it a small kiss, Lucien smiled. "I do so love watching you be a mother."

Jean's free hand went to her pregnant belly. "Just a few more months and you'll get to watch me all you want."

Lucien smiled brightly. Now, perhaps more acutely than before, he couldn't wait for them to become parents together. He wanted to promise Jean that their child would never start a life of crime or become stoic and stodgy. But he wouldn't say anything. He'd just show her, and their child, that he would always be there to love and support them both.


	4. Chapter 4

"Lucien, keep your eyes on the road!" Jean scolded, catching her husband eyeing her hungrily, yet again.

"Remind me where you got that dress?" he asked, smirking.

Jean looked down at the deep red frock she'd thrown together. It was cut lower than anything she'd ever owned in her life, but fit her loosely to hide as much of the pregnancy as she could. "I told you, I made it. I was going to use the fabric for something eventually, so I just cut and pinned it and sewed it yesterday while you were with Jack. I realized that if I'm going to pretend to be a scarlet woman, I may as well look the part."

"Mmm," he agreed. "I hope you'll keep that for another occasion."

"I certainly will not!" She smoothed the flowing skirt, admiring the fabric, if nothing else. "I suppose I can alter it and change the neckline after the baby comes and I can actually fit into clothes again."

"Don't change a thing about it," he insisted. "Wear it again the next time we have the house to ourselves.

"Lucien! My god, at this rate, I'll be pregnant again before this baby is even born!"

He just laughed as they drove down the lonely road to Beaufort.

Jean decided to change the subject. "You and Jack had a good talk?"

"Yes, actually. It seems that when he's in a cooperative mood, he's quite pleasant."

She frowned. "Unfortunately, he's rarely cooperative."

"He's very worried for you, Jean. He might be a bit of a mess sometimes, but he loves you very much."

"You didn't tell him what we're doing, did you? That I'm…" she gestured to her attire.

"No, I know better than that. I'm probably the only one who is at all amused by all of this," he chuckled.

Jean just sighed. "I don't know if it's a good thing that my husband thinks it's funny to have me dress up and pretend like this."

He put his hand on her knee reassuringly. "Only because I like when you come out of your shell. And I like having you with me on our adventures. ."

Blinking away tears, Jean cursed her pregnancy hormones. Every time Lucien was the least bit mawkish, she got very emotional. It was thoroughly inconvenient. "Oh, I meant to ask," she began, suddenly remembering a thought she'd had earlier, "Did Jack tell you why on earth he has a photo of us in a book?"

"Oh yes. Apparently it's one of the photos from the wedding. Christopher sent it to him, thinking he'd like a picture of his mother so happy."

Jean was surprised at her son's sentimentality.

"As I said, Jean, he loves you very much."

Eventually, they reached the tiny town of Beaufort. Lucien dropped Jean at the bus station, as they'd planned, and he drove around town, getting the lay of the land and finding a place near the brothel to leave the car. There was just one paved road nearby. Lucien found a turnoff with a patch of trees beside the street sign. He parked the car off the road, mostly hidden by the trees. Once he was satisfied, he got out and walked slowly to the brothel. He wanted to give Jean enough time to do her part before he came. Along the way, Lucien paused to look at the street sign. Valerie Lane. He smiled.

Meanwhile, Jean walked from the bus station to the brothel, following the directions that Jack had given Lucien. It wasn't hard to find. There wasn't much in Beaufort at all. As she walked, she tried to keep breathing and not think about her nerves or how embarrassed she was to be seen in public in this dress! At last, she arrived and squared her shoulders before opening the door with more confidence than she could ever possibly feel.

"You're in the wrong place, dearie."

Jean blinked in the dim light and saw a woman younger than she with a gruff voice glaring at her. Based on Jack's description, she knew this must be Kath. Jean cleared her throat, willing her voice to keep strong and steady. "I'm in exactly the right place. Looking for work."

Kath scoffed, "A little old aren't you?"

Jean's immediate reaction was to shout _I beg your pardon!_ but that wouldn't be fitting. So instead she replied, "I'm not near as old as I look, sad to say. I've been at this a long time. I know what I'm doing." She couldn't believe these words were coming out of her mouth.

To Jean's surprise, Kath nodded approvingly. "I'll give you a trial run. You get one customer, if anyone picks you. Whatever you make goes straight to me. If I don't hear any complaints, I'll keep you. Then you can keep your cut."

"Fair's fair," Jean agreed. She gave her purse and jacket to a burly man, presumably Norm, and took a seat in the rundown parlor with three other girls, all of whom were much younger, coarser, and dirtier than Jean had ever been in all her life. They didn't talk to her and she didn't talk to them.

Thankfully, Jean didn't have to wait too long. Lucien arrived about half an hour after Jean arrived. She could hear Kath greet him using a tone that a wife did not like to hear from another woman directed at her husband.

"Come this way, stranger. Take your pick." Kath led Lucien to the parlor to show off the women waiting there.

All the girls struck a sultry pose as a potential customer approached. Jean quickly tried to follow suit, feeling like a complete fool. And sure enough, when Lucien came into view, his eyes widened and he was visibly trying to suppress a laugh.

"My, I do like the look of that one," he said, pointing at Jean. "How much?"

Kath told him the price and Jean was very unsure of whether or not she should be insulted. Lucien agreed without question.

And that was where the trouble started.

"You'll pay that? For _her_?" Kath asked incredulously.

"Oh I have no doubt she's worth every penny." Lucien did his best to sound eager, but his eyes betrayed his worry as he snuck a glance back at Jean.

"I don't think I like two strangers showing up at my door so close together. I don't think I like this at all," Kath said threateningly. She narrowed her eyes at Jean and Lucien before shouting, "Norm! Get these two in the back room!"

"Jean, run!" Lucien yelled, trying to make a break for it.

The only way out was through the doorway where Kath and Lucien were standing. With shocking agility and strength, Kath grabbed Jean by the arm and dragged her down the back hall. Norm's sheer bulk had taken Lucien by surprise and gotten him in a headlock.

The Blakes were taken to a room at the end of the hall. Inside were several small cots and a crib and a number of children.

"Dennis, get the chairs! Tie 'em up!" Kath barked at one of the five children in the room. The oldest boy jumped up and did as his mother commanded. Norm and Kath roughly deposited Lucien and Jean into the hard, wooden chairs as the boy, who couldn't have been older than about eight, wrapped a length of rope tightly around Lucien first and then Jean.

A bell rang down the hall and Kath rushed out, grumbling something rather rude about the girls in her employ. The Blakes were left in the room with Norm leering at them and the children all staring in a disconcerting manner.

"Norm! Mr. Wilkins don't want to pay for Sandra's services!" Kath's voice carried down the hall. Norm left in a huff, presumably to beat Mr. Wilkins until he gave up his wallet.

Jean realized that this same thing may have been Jack's job when he was here. And whatever Norm would do to Mr. Wilkins was likely what had befallen her boy. She pressed her eyes closed to erase that thought from her mind.

"You all must be…Dennis, Victor, Peter, Vickie, and little Lex in the crib, is that right?" Lucien said, smiling kindly at the children.

"I'm Peter, he's Victor," one of them replied.

"Oi, shut it!" Dennis shouted at his younger brother, giving him a shove. The boy turned his attention to Lucien. "How do you know us?"

"We know Jack. You remember him, don't you?"

A little girl's voice sounded quietly, "I liked Jack. He would read to us."

Lucien smiled. "Are those Jack's books up there?" he asked, nodding to the stack on the shelf by the window. Little Vickie nodded.

Jean shifted uncomfortably. Her panic over being captured and tied up was starting to dissipate. "Now what?" she mumbled so only Lucien could hear.

"I'm working on it," he muttered back. They were tied back to back, each completely unable to move. Jean was pointed toward the door, while Lucien faced the children and the window behind a cluttered desk. The only light came from the fading sun outside and an old oil lamp. Clearly there wasn't any electricity running through the old, dilapidated building. Lucien got an idea. He put a worried look on his face. "Dennis, you were very good with that rope, tying us up. But I'm very worried about Jean. You see, she's pregnant and with the rope so tight, it might hurt the baby."

Dennis slowly went toward Jean. But before he could get close enough to loosen anything, Norm returned, storming into the room.

"Alright, you lot, your mum wants you outside! We got some things to do with these two."

All the children shuffled out. Dennis reached into the crib to get Lex; obviously the eldest knew what was to occur in that room and knew the baby shouldn't be around.

Lucien began to shout in a panicked voice, "Please, just loosen the ropes on her! She's with child! You can't hurt a baby, an innocent baby! At her age, there's risk enough!"

Norm backhanded Lucien across the face. Jean screamed. "SHUT UP!" Norm bellowed.

"Please! Do whatever you want to me, but please don't hurt her!" Lucien begged. He earned another smack for that. But Norm seemed to take pity on them. He untied the rope around Jean's middle and retied it just slightly looser.

"Norm!" Kath's not-so-dulcet tones screeched through the hall again. As soon as he finished with the knot, Norm left the room again.

Lucien exhaled in relief. "Right." He began violently thrashing around in his chair.

"What are you doing? Would you stop moving around? You're going to get us killed!" Jean hissed.

"It's not my fault we're tied up together," Lucien replied. His voice had a teasing tone to it that Jean couldn't fathom in that moment.

"Lucien!"

"Jean, see if you can get one of your hands free. I thought that loosening the rope around you would let me get a little looser too, but it wasn't nearly enough. I'm sorry if I scared you. I just needed to scare them enough," he explained.

"So you're not worried that I'm too old to have a baby?"

"Of course not," he scoffed. "You're in perfect health. I would know, I'm your doctor. But they don't know that, do they?"

Jean realized he had a point. She had no reason to be annoyed at him. Though if she were any less petrified at their predicament, she might have been angrier. She rocked and twisted and shifted her body in the chair to loosen the ropes as much as the retied knot would allow. "Are you hurt from where he hit you?" she asked as she continued to struggle against the ropes.

"Oh no, I've had much worse. Nothing broken. But I'll be glad for you to kiss it better when we get out of here," he replied.

How he could possibly flirt at a time like this, she would never know. But his optimistic attitude was going a long way to keeping her calm. And at last, she freed one wrist from the bindings. "Got it!" She used her free hand to pull at the knot until it came undone.

"Bravo, Mrs. Blake!" Lucien celebrated as she freed herself and then untied him. "You grab that stack of books there and climb out the window. Follow the road toward town and you'll see the car behind some trees beside the Valerie Lane street sign," he instructed.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, the worry etched in her brow.

"I'm going to see if I can find any of Jack's money."

She nodded and collected the books in one arm and held her purse, which had been tossed on the desk upon her arrival, in the other hand. Lucien helped her climb onto the desk and out the open window. "Don't leave me alone for too long," she said, giving him a peck on the cheek before dropping down to the ground outside.

Her words took him by surprise. He realized there was no time to waste. So rather than continue to search for anything else to bring to Jack, Lucien threw the oil lamp against the curtains. It shattered on the floor, covering the curtains in lamp oil. It only took a fraction of a second for it to burst into flame. "Fire!" he shouted, hoping for the safety of those who may be trapped inside. . He shouted louder and louder, praying the children and those working women would be able to get out.

The door burst open and Norm rushed toward Lucien. But the old army major was ready this time. He delivered a swift right hook right across Norm's face, knocking him to the ground.

Lucien heard Jean's voice in his head, asking him not to leave her alone. He heard Jack's warning to not leave his mother with another dead husband. Lucien didn't need any more prompting. He covered his mouth and nose in the crook of his elbow and hurried through the growing flames and through the window. The heat and smoke was unbearable. He practically fell through the window and onto the ground, where he rolled around to snuff out any flames that had caught on his clothing. He heard some shouting and ran down the road before anything could distract his attention.

Jean had waited half a mile away, clutching her son's belongings in her arms, her eyes peeled for any glimpse of her husband. Upon seeing him stumble and cough, she dropped everything she was holding and rushed to him. "Lucien! Oh my god, are you alright!?"

He practically collapsed into her arms. He couldn't speak yet, through the coughing.

"Come on. Let's get you to the car. You need to rest," she said soothingly.

She put as many of the books as would fit in her purse. Lucien carried the rest. They slowly made their way down the empty road and made it to the car just in time. The loud bell of the firetruck sounded just as they got out of view. Once the coast was clear, Jean drove them back home to Ballarat, allowing Lucien to rest beside her.

The next day, Jack was discharged from the hospital to Dr. Blake's care. Jean set up everything in the guest room with his books inconspicuously placed on the nightstand. But of course, he noticed immediately. "These are mine! Where did you get them!?"

Jean just smirked at her son. "Lucien found them for you."

"He…?"

She cut off his implied question. "Everything is fine now. And I don't know if you saw the newspaper this morning, but apparently there was a fire in Beaufort. That's just out of town, you remember. The woman who owned the building and her children are nowhere to be found. There was one fatality, a man, the paper said. No other injuries, though."

Jack just stared at his mother as she tucked him into bed to heal from the beating and shooting that the now-deceased Norm had given him. Jack marveled at his mother, wondering, not for the first time, if she knew and understood far more than she let on.

That night, when everyone in the house had gone to bed, Jean and Lucien sat up in the parlor. She was doing her best to try to mend his clothes from where they'd been damaged by the fire, but it seemed a lost cause.

"I've given it some thought, and I've made a decision," Lucien announced, downing the last of his whiskey and coming to sit beside his wife on the sofa.

"Oh? And what have you decided?" she asked, her mouth forming a bemused half-smile.

"A name for the baby. We came up with Jonathan Thomas for a boy. How about Valerie Genevieve for a girl?"

Jean put down her sewing to look at him. "Where did you come with that?"

"That was the street where we left the car yesterday. When I first saw it, I thought it sounded pretty. But now it carries much more significance."

"How so?" she asked curiously.

"It's where you rescued me. And where we rescued Jack, in a way."

"I think you rescued us both."

"Well, let's say we rescued each other," he compromised.

Jean placed a hand over the unborn baby. "Valerie. It is a very pretty name. Valerie Genevieve Blake. Valerie Blake," she repeated to herself, testing the words in her mouth. "Oh!" Jean exclaimed suddenly, her eyes wide in shock before she broke into a big smile.

"What!?"

She grabbed his hand and placed it where hers had just been. The baby had kicked for the first time, and repeated the action for Lucien. Jean watched his face and reveled in his expression. She'd never seen him so beautifully happy before. Her eyes began to well up. "I think we have it. The baby decided her own name. Valerie, it is!" Jean said through her tears.

Lucien kissed her happily, and they sat on the sofa for a little while longer, feeling the baby kick against their hands.


End file.
